| dc.description.abstract | Selection of practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3 at
colleges for vocational education
The need for an investigation into the identification of more practice-directed
learning content for Accounting N1 to N3 that could be offered at colleges for
vocational education was recognized as early as 1988 when educational research
recommended that investigation be undertaken into the relevance of the present
system of vocational education offered by colleges for vocational education.
This research was focused on the selection of more practice-directed learning content
for a subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 that could be offered at colleges for
vocational education.
To meet these requirements, the following objectives were laid down for the research:
* To determine the correlation between the mission of colleges for vocational
education and the general and particular training objectives for Accounting N1
to N3
* To indicate the place of colleges for vocational education in the system of
education of the RSA and to determine the implications of this and the nature
and direction of Accounting in the school and the college for vocational
education
* To determine the place that Accounting holds within the total programme
structure or curriculum for business studies
* To indicate the curricular theoretical context for the selection of practice-directed
learning content for Accounting N1 to N3
* To identify and systematise the demands for knowledge, skills and attitudes that
the Accounting vocational milieu places on the newcomer from a college for
vocational education
* To use the identified needs of commerce and industry and the requirements of
generally accepted accounting practice (GAAP) as a guideline in determining
objectives and learning content for the respective subject curricula for
Accounting N1 to N3.
Since research into the practice-directed offering of the subject in its totality is an
extensive task, it was decided to concentrate on the proposals from commerce and
industry in relation to the required accounting knowledge and skills that a college-leaver
at N1 to N3 level should have to enter the world of work successfully. The way
in which these demands could be taken into account curriculum-wise in the learning
content of the subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 also formed part of the
research.
To carry out the research, a literature study was undertaken to obtain a curricular
theoretical context for the selection of practice-directed learning content for Accounting
N1 to N3. This was followed by an empirical investigation among lecturers of
colleges for vocational education, small to medium-sized businesses and accounting
firms to determine practice-directed learning content for these subject curricula.
The results of the research indicate that the current subject curriculum for
Accounting N1 to N3 does not satisfy the practice-directed demands set by the
business sector for a college-leaver who wants to enter directly upon an accounting
career. It was found, in particular, that the objectives at present incorporated in the
subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3, had to be appreciably adjusted to satisfy
the practice-directed demands of the business sector. Such an adjustment should also
mean that the subject curriculum for Accounting N1 to N3 will be more directly
focused on the mission of vocational education.
As a result of the empirical research, which took the form of questionnaires to college
lecturers, small to medium-sized enterprises and accounting firms, proposals were
made to adjust the general and particular objectives in the present subject curriculum
of Accounting N1 to N3.
Proposals for new learning content for the present subject curriculum for Accounting
N1 to N3 were also made, which could mean that the particular subject curriculum
will satisfy the accounting knowledge and skills requirements of commerce and industry.
The proposals include learning content that places the emphasis on the application
of theoretical knowledge, which will be realised mainly through the use of
practice-directed applications such as the completion of source and supplementary
documents, the completion of exercises from source documents and the simulation of
situations directly related to accounting practice. The inclusion of relevant computer
applications through which students are enabled, on conclusion of the N3 instructional
offering, to apply both the manual and the computer system in practice can be seen
as an important recommendation arising from the research.
The proposed new learning content that resulted from this research was included in
an experimental subject curriculum for Accounting and has already been implemented
on an experimental basis at some colleges for vocational education in South Africa.
In conclusion, the results indicate that the selection of learning content for a subject
curriculum that can be offered at colleges for vocational education can only be successful
if there is sufficient co-operation between subject curriculum developers and
the sectors for which the curricula are being developed. It was also obvious from the
research that inputs from accountants and businesses are indispensable for determining
practice-directed learning content for Accounting N1 to N3. | en_US |
